Next Wednesday and Thursday, April 23- 24, the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR), along with the Department of Agriculture (DOA) and the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture (CTSA), will host a workshop at the DOA conference room to discuss the ins and outs of aquaponics from 9 a.m. - 12 noon.

According to a statement from CTSA’s Meredith Brooks, “aquaponics is gaining popularity across the world as a sustainable way to conserve resources while improving food security and human health.

(Aquaponics is best described as the symbiotic cultivation of fish and vegetables).

Brooks said this simple farming technology exists in American Samoa, where one commercial farmer is growing vegetables for the local school lunch program. However, she continued, “it is not yet widespread on this small island, where there is much potential for aquaponics to catalyze significant change.”

The upcoming workshop “will take the guesswork out of starting an aquaponics system, in an effort to increase local use of the technology.”

CTSA Executive Director Dr. Cheng-Sheng Lee and aquaponics expert Dr. Harry Ako from the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) will be leading the workshop entitled: “Food Security and Self-Sufficiency in American Samoa”.

Others who will be offering presentations include renowned food safety expert Jim Hollyer, also from UHM’s CTAHR, and Travis Fleming, Community Nutritionist from American Samoa Community College (ASCC).

The workshop will focus in on, among other things, growing fish and vegetables together, to improve food security and human health.

During the two-day event, according to Brooks, presenters will share information about human nutrition, aquaponics basics, post-harvest and food safety, aquatic feed preparation, aquaponics system construction, and system management.

At the end of the free two-day workshop, participants will get the chance to be part of the “Taste of Aquaponics” taste test.

Anyone interested in participating in this workshop is reminded that space is limited, and registration is required by email to mariavaofauna@hotmail.com

High Talking Chief Apela Afoa, a Tilapia Farmer from Taputimu said he began his aquaponics farm with the help of CTSA. “I am thrilled with the success we have experienced so far,” he said.

He added, “Vegetables are expensive and not always readily available. Furthermore, our reefs are under constant pressure from commercial fishing, and we are in need of an alternate source for fish, our dietary staple. Aquaponics can help solve both of these issues, and has the potential to completely change the food system in American Samoa.”

Brooks explained that Aquaponics is just one facet of aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish and even plants. “When compared with the worldwide aquaculture industry, the Pacific Region sector is slow growing,” she said, adding that in many other regions of the world, aquaculture has been incorporated substantially into food production schemes as policy makers recognize the need for a sustainable source of protein to meet the demands of growing populations and declining wild stocks of fish.

CTSA is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The Center’s mission is to support aquaculture research, development, demonstration and extension education to enhance viable and profitable U. S. aquaculture. CTSA has supported several aquaponics projects to refine, demonstrate, and transfer the technology in Hawaii and the Pacific region.

More information on the CTSA can be obtained by logging on to <www.ctsa.org>